US presidential hopeful Rick Santorum hits out at gay marriage

Repblican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum used an appearance in Iowa on Monday night to rail against gay marriage.

The politician, who has a track record of anti-gay remarks, said at the Lyon County Republican dinner that gay rights campaigners were deliberately trying to undermine religion.

He said: “The reason the Left has gone after same-sex marriage is because it’s a two-fer.

“When you redefine marriage, you cheapen marriage. You make it into something less valuable, less special … [and] it is a sure bet that will undermine faith.”

The former US senator also attacked government assistance programmes and ended his speech by asking the audience: “Please join me in saving America.”

In 2003, Mr Santorum outraged gay rights campaigners when he compared homosexuality to incest and said people should not have a right to privacy with respect to sexual acts.

In an AP interview, he said: “[I have] a problem with homosexual acts, as I would with what I would consider to be acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships . . . if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery.”

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